Yemen's Iran- aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack that knocked out about 5 million barrels or 5% of global production, but U.S. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, managed by the Energy Department, is held in heavily-guarded underground caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Washington in the past has participated in coordinated...

NEW YORK, Sept 11- White House officials on Wednesday urged U.S. biofuel producers and oil refiners to accept a deal to lift biofuel blending mandates in 2020, saying overlong negotiations could make it hard to enact the change in time for next year, sources familiar with the discussions said. The White House is trying to soothe farmers infuriated by the Trump...

DUBAI, Sept 11- Iran said on Wednesday Washington should distance itself from "warmongers" after the resignation of hawkish White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Tehran stood by its demand that sanctions be lifted before any talks. The departure of Bolton removes one of the strongest advocates of a hard line towards Iran from President Donald...

Sept 9- A federal appeals court on Monday rejected LinkedIn's effort to stop a San Francisco company from using information that users of the professional networking website have deemed public. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let stand an August 2017 preliminary injunction that required LinkedIn, a Microsoft Corp unit with more than 645 million members,...

WASHINGTON/ CHICAGO, Sept 5- Farm loan delinquencies rose to a record high in June at Wisconsin's community banks, data showed on Thursday, a sign President Donald Trump's trade conflicts with China and other countries are hitting farmers hard in a state that could be crucial for his chances of re-election in 2020.. Farmers there could be feeling the pinch more...

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden was called out during a climate change forum on Wednesday for planning to attend a fundraiser hosted by the co-founder of a natural gas export company, after he had pledged not to take fossil-fuel company money. The exchange highlighted the political tensions involved in trying to lead the country off oil, coal...

*Goods trade deficit with China jumps 9.4%. WASHINGTON, Sept 4- The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in July, but the gap with China, a focus of the Trump administration's "America First" agenda, surged to a six-month high. The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday came against the backdrop of an escalation in the trade war between the United States and...

WASHINGTON, Sept 4- Ten Democratic U.S. presidential hopefuls will tout their plans to tackle climate change on Wednesday evening in a series of CNN town halls, sure to pit moderates like Joe Biden against progressives like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to face Republican President Donald Trump...

WASHINGTON, Aug 29- President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration is planning a "giant package" related to ethanol that would please U.S. farmers angry over the government's expanded approval of waivers freeing oil refiners from obligations to use the corn-based fuel. The EPA announced this month a decision to grant 31 biofuel waivers to...

WASHINGTON, Aug 29- The Trump administration on Thursday will propose rolling back Obama-era limits on emissions of methane at oil and gas operations on Thursday, a government source said, relaxing standards on one of the main pollutants scientists link to climate change. President Donald Trump insists he is an environmentalist, but the move is his...

WASHINGTON, Aug 29- The Trump administration is set to roll back Obama-era limits on emissions of methane at oil and gas wells on Thursday, a government source said, relaxing standards on one of the main pollutants scientists link to climate change. President Donald Trump insists he is an environmentalist, but the move is his administration's latest easing of...

AMSTERDAM, Aug 29- A growing majority of U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has said he will pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate accord involving nearly 200 countries and has reversed environmental protections put in place by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. Trump skipped a meeting on climate change during last weekend's G7...

*Japan govt spokesman declines to comment on auto tariffs. TOKYO, Aug 26- Japan's top government spokesman denied on Monday that Tokyo made too many concessions in trade talks with the United States, saying the fact the two countries were able to reach a broad agreement was "very valuable." The agreement, if finalised, would cool a trade dispute between the two allies...

*US keeps Japan car tariffs, Tokyo to cut farm tariffs-Nikkei. TOKYO, Aug 24- The United States and Japan have reached the broad framework of a trade agreement, Japan's Nikkei business daily said on Saturday, with Tokyo making concessions on its agriculture but none immediately apparent from Washington on automobiles. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer...